The present invention is directed to a collapsible, semi-rigid container. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a collapsible, semi-rigid container having neck and bottom wall portions, and a peripheral side wall composed of an upper rigid portion, and a lower soft portion.
Food service operators often purchase products in large containers, as opposed to the much smaller containers commonly available in supermarkets. Frequently, operators choose to dispense products from the same containers in which they originally are packaged. When such containers are formed entirely of rigid materials, the package cannot collapse during dispensing. As a consequence, the dispensed product must be replaced using air that often has a deleterious effect on product shelf life.
The only way to ensure that products packaged within completely rigid containers are dispensed hygienically and aseptically (if the product is initially packaged aseptically) is to allow the entrance of sterile air only to replace dispensed product. In practice, ensuring that only sterile air is allowed to enter containers in a food service setting is extremely impractical.
An alternate means of ensuring that products are dispensed hygienically and in a shelf life promoting manner is to prevent any additional air from entering the container during dispensing. This can only be done with flexible packaging or a semi-rigid container that is able to fold partially into itself as product is dispensed, thereby reducing the volume of the container and mooting the need for replacement air.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a semi-rigid container that is collapsible into itself. Such a container combines the strength of a rigid plastic container with the flexibility required to dispense products hygienically and in a shelf life promoting manner. Desirably, the container appears to be a normal, rigid container, and may be handled as such. Most desirably, empty collapsed containers may be stacked into each other, reducing wasted space. In addition, containers may begin the filling process in the collapsed state, expanding as the process continues and allowing very little air to enter the product. Theoretically, this would allow for an increase in filling process speed.